Jamaica - Labor

The labor force in 1998 was estimated at slightly over one million. The
unemployment rate in 2000 was estimated at 16%. Of those employed, 21%
worked in agriculture, 19% in industry; and 60% in services.

The right to unionize is protected by law, and union membership
accounted for 15% of those employed. The two major trade unions are
closely identified with the country's two main political parties:
the National Workers' Union with the PNP and the Bustamante
Industrial Trade Union with the JLP. The Trade Union Congress is a third
major union. The ability to strike is neither authorized nor prohibited
by law and strikes do occur. The government rarely interferes with union
organizing or bargaining efforts and it effectively enforces laws which
prohibit discriminating against workers for their union activities.

Labor legislation covers such items as national insurance, employment of
nationals, hours of work, minimum wages, employment of women and youths,
apprenticeship, and welfare (workers' compensation and factory
conditions). The industrial workweek is generally eight hours a day for
five days with mandatory overtime pay for work in excess of eight hours.
Hours in agriculture and some of the service industries vary, but are
usually longer. The minimum wage was $30 per week in 2002, but most
salaried workers earn more than the minimum.

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